ONGC lobbies to divert Mumbai High crude to MRPL
ONGC is desperate to divert 7m t/y of its high quality Mumbai High crude to its 9.69m t/y refinery at Mangalore.
Last month, ONGC asked the oil ministry for permission to divert 60% of its Mumbai High crude to subsidiary Mangalore Refinery, which is due for capacity expansion to 15m t/y by 2006. For 2004-05, MRPL will continue to import its crude from national oil companies in the Middle East.
This time we might import only 4m t/y instead of 7m t/y last year, a top ONGC source tells PETROWATCH. ONGC has also decided to phase out the supply of ONGC Videshs equity oil from Sudan for MRPL.
Freight charges of Sudan crude are killing MRPL, a top ONGC source tells PETROWATCH. And now that ONGC has started spot sale of OVLs Sudan crude we want to use our own indigenous production.
For 2003-04, the government had allocated only 1.5m t/y of ONGCs indigenous crude to MRPL.
